1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical transceivers and optical transceiver host computing systems (hereinafter also referred to simply as “host”). More specifically, the present invention relates to filtering diagnostic information of the optical transceiver prior to reporting the filtered information to the host.
2. The Relevant Technology
Computing and networking technology have transformed our world. As the amount of information communicated over networks has increased, high speed transmission has become ever more critical. Many high speed data transmission networks rely on optical transceivers and similar devices for facilitating transmission and reception of digital data embodied in the form of optical signals over optical fibers. Optical networks are thus found in a wide variety of high speed applications ranging from as modest as a small Local Area Network (LAN) to as grandiose as the backbone of the Internet.
Typically, data transmission in such networks is implemented by way of an optical transmitter (also referred to as an electro-optic transducer), such as a laser or Light Emitting Diode (LED). The electro-optic transducer emits light when current is passed there through, the intensity of the emitted light being a function of the current magnitude through the transducer. Data reception is generally implemented by way of an optical receiver (also referred to as an optoelectronic transducer), an example of which is a photodiode. The optoelectronic transducer receives light and generates a current, the magnitude of the generated current being a function of the intensity of the received light.
Various other components are also employed by the optical transceiver to aid in the control of the optical transmit and receive components, as well as the processing of various data and other signals. For example, such optical transceivers typically include an electro-optic transducer driver (e.g., referred to as a “laser driver” when used to drive a laser signal) configured to control the operation of the optical transmitter in response to various control inputs. The optical transceiver also generally includes an amplifier (e.g., often referred to as a “post-amplifier”) configured to perform various operations with respect to certain parameters of a data signal received by the optical receiver. A controller circuit (hereinafter referred to the “controller”) controls the operation of the laser driver and post amplifier.
Additionally, the controller may also include various sensors that are capable of measuring transceiver operational parameters. There may also be sensors coupled to the laser driver, the post-amplifier and other transceiver components. These operational parameters may include temperature, voltage to the transceiver, laser bias current, receive and transmit power, and the like.
During the operation of the optical transceiver, it is often useful to perform diagnostics of the various operational parameters. A typical way diagnostics are performed is to have the sensors measure an operational parameter value and send the value to an analog to digital converter, which may be within the controller or may be a separate transceiver component. The analog to digital converter converts the value to a digital signal and reports the value to a host computing system coupled to the transceiver module. This allows a user to then evaluate the various operational parameters.
However, there are problems associated with performing diagnostics in this manner. For example, the reported value may not be very stable. Due to electrical, thermal, or mechanical noise in or around the transceiver, the operational parameters are susceptible to a range of results. This means that there may be a wide difference in a first reported value as compared to a second reported value. For example, the temperature of a first reported value may be 80° C., the temperature of a second reported value may be 70° C., and the temperature of a third reported value may be 76° C., even if the temperature conditions are relatively stable. This may often lead to uncertainty of what the operating temperature actually is. This is especially problematic when there is a defined operational standard that must be met for a particular operational parameter.
Therefore, what would be advantageous is an optical transceiver that is capable of providing more accurate digital diagnostics information to the host.